Darkness swallowed him.
Not the soft dark of closed eyes, nor the fleeting haze of sleep, but a void so deep it felt like oblivion.
Kira drifted, formless, weightless, without breath or pulse.
No limbs to flex, no heart to thud, no lungs to draw air.
For an endless moment, he questioned his own existence, a ghost adrift in nothingness, his thoughts a faint flicker in an abyss.
Then—a pulse.
A faint, blue glow throbbed from within him, like a heartbeat in reverse, cold and alien.
It was him.
He was awake, but not alive.
Not as he'd known life.
No eyes to blink, no throat to scream, yet his mind churned, sharp and raw, clawing at the edges of this strange new state.
What is this?
Where am I?
His thoughts spiraled, frantic, but his core—whatever he was now—remained still, suspended in a silence that pressed like damp stone.
He tried to move, to reach out, but there was nothing to move.
He tried to speak, to curse, but no sound came.
Only the pulse, steady, mocking.
Am I dead?
No.
Something else.
Something worse.
Memory crashed over him, a flood of jagged shards.
Avelia's cold eyes, glinting like polished steel. The circle of blades, gleaming in torchlight. Elaine's trembling fingers, her staff glowing as she cast the first spell—fire searing.
The pain seared anew—his jaw shattering under the hammer, blood flooding his mouth, his vision fading as his so-called family struck again and again.
They betrayed me.
His fury surged, a molten wave trapped in his formless core.
I gave them everything, and they slaughtered me.
A new pulse thrummed through him, sharp and electric, jolting his thoughts.
System Notification: Core Activation Complete
Welcome, Entity [Kira].
You are now bound to the Tutorial Dungeon Core.
Your former vessel has been destroyed.
Dungeon Status
Level: 0 -> Lv 1 (0/10)
Mana Pool: 100/100 (Regeneration: 1/minute)
Influence Range: 10 meters (Core Room only)
Defense Rating: 5 (Fragile stone structure)
Spawn Rate: 1 minion/hour (Max: 3 minions)
Arsenal:
Minions: 1 Slime (Level 1, Acidic Touch) - 10 Mana
1 Goblin Scout (Level 1, Weak Stab) - 15 Mana
Traps: 1 Pit Trap (Basic, 10 damage)
Floors: 1 (Single chamber, 10x10 meters)
Skills:
Core Sense (Detect lifeforms within Influence Range)
Basic Spawn (Create minions using Mana)
Illusion Weave (Minor visual deception, 10 Mana/use)
Objective: Absorb essence from invaders to grow. Expand your domain or crumble.
Warning: Core destruction results in permanent termination.
Protect your core at all costs.
Kira's mind reeled, a storm of rage and disbelief.
The Tutorial Dungeon—its damp stone walls, its stale, moldering air, the faint drip of water in the dark—he knew this place.
His first battle, his first scar, his first taste of power.
But now he was it.
Not a man, not a hero, not even a monster.
A dungeon core, a glowing orb nestled in a cracked stone altar, pulsing faintly in the gloom.
They didn't just kill me.
The thought burned, bitter as ash.
They erased me.
No grave, no name, just this forgotten chamber at the world's edge, buried beneath their lies.
His fury condensed, a black coal in his core, smoldering with a promise.
They'll pay. All of them.
He focused, his will sharpening like a blade.
A command rose, instinctual, from the depths of his new form.
[Basic Spawn – Slime] – 10 Mana
A faint glow flickered in a stagnant puddle of mana across the chamber, where the air hung heavy with rot.
The puddle gurgled, bubbled, and writhed, birthing a translucent blue slime.
It wobbled, eyeless, its gelatinous form glistening in the dim light.
It bounced once, twice, then slid toward the wall with agonizing slowness, leaving a slick trail of ooze.
It bumped the stone with a soft fwump, paused, then bumped again.
Fwump.
Fwump.
Fwump.
Fwump.
Fwump.
As if sheer stubbornness could break the ancient rock.
Kira's core pulsed with irritation.
This is my army?
A brainless jelly that fights walls?
The slime turned, sensing his gaze, and jiggled with what seemed like cheerful defiance.
It slid toward a jagged rock, and attacked, its acidic touch sizzling faintly.
The rock, unmoved, stood firm.
The rock won.
Great. My first minion's a suicidal pudding.
He pressed on, his anger simmering.
[Basic Spawn – Goblin Scout] – 15 Mana
The stone floor cracked, glowing faintly, and a spindly green figure clawed its way out.
Its yellow eyes darted wildly, its crooked nose twitching in the stale air.
The goblin scout, barely taller than a child, gripped a rusty dagger, its knuckles pale with effort.
It grunted, scratched its scrawny backside, and sniffed the blade, its tongue flicking out to taste the metal.
Kira's core flared, a silent scream of frustration.
Are you mocking me?
The goblin, oblivious, strutted toward the slime, poked it with the dagger, and yelped when the slime slapped back with a wet smack.
What followed was a pathetic brawl—three minutes of flailing limbs and squelching slaps, the goblin's grunts echoing off the damp walls.
My revenge army… a goblin with the brains of a turnip and a slime with a death wish.
Dungeon Mana Remaining: 75/100
Minions Active: 2/3
Kira's thoughts darkened, his core pulsing faintly in the cracked altar.
Two minions—one a bumbling fool, the other a literal blob.
One more spawn available, but for what?
Another idiot to waste his mana?
He imagined spawning a rock, hoping it might trip someone by sheer luck.
His core thrummed with bitter amusement.
The goblin, still strutting with unearned confidence, crossed the chamber.
Its bare feet slapped the stone, its dagger glinting in the torchlight.
Suddenly, a sharp crack split the air.
The ground gave way, and the goblin plummeted into the dungeon's only pit trap with a startled yelp.
Clang! Thud! Splat.
It landed in the shallow pit, legs flailing like a dying insect, its dagger skittering across the floor.
Kira's core pulsed with disbelief.
Did that fool just fall into my own trap?
The slime oozed over, peering into the pit with a curious wobble.
It spat a glob of acid, which missed entirely, sizzling harmlessly on the stone.
The goblin groaned, clawing at the dirt, its yellow eyes wide with confusion.
System Notification
Trap triggered: Basic Pit Trap (1x). Target: Goblin Scout
Trap damaged. Reset cost: 10 Mana
Kira's thoughts burned, a mix of rage and exhaustion.
I haven't even seen an adventurer yet, and I'm already losing mana to my own incompetence.
The goblin limped out, hissing, its leg bruised, its pride shattered.
The slime jiggled nearby, oblivious to the chaos.
Reluctantly, Kira pulsed the command.
[Reset Trap – 10 Mana]
The pit trap rumbled, stone grinding as the slab reformed, sealing the hole with a dull thud.
The goblin shook itself off, muttering in a guttural tongue, and shot a wary glance at the floor, as if it might betray it again.
Note to self, Kira thought, his core flickering with grim resolve.
Give that one a name. Like "Useless."